Today's school librarian works with both students and teachers to facilitate access to information in a wide variety of formats, instruct students and teachers how to acquire, evaluate and use information and the technology needed in this process, and introduces children and young adults to literature and other resources to broaden their horizons. As a collaborator, change agent, and leader, the school librarian develops, promotes and implements a program that will help prepare students to be effective users of ideas and information, a lifelong skill.
job duties of a high school librarian
School librarians are generally on a similar salary schedule as teachers. Salaries go up with years of experience and amount of education in most cases. When transferring from district to district, a school librarian may be given credit for some, but possibly not all years of prior experience based on the teacher contract in the district. Occasionally school librarians will have a slightly extended contract to finish administrative tasks outside of the school year, but this is not common.
Another way to learn about the job is to shadow a school librarian for a day. Contact your local schools or state professional organization to set up a visit. Once you are in a job, connecting with a mentor will help the new school librarian navigate through the challenges of a new career.
Librarians and library media specialists help people find information and conduct research for personal and professional use. Their job duties may change based on the type of setting they work in, such as public, school, or medical libraries.
School librarians, sometimes called school library media specialists, typically work in elementary, middle, and high school libraries. They teach students how to use library resources, including technology. They also help teachers develop lesson plans and find materials for classroom instruction.
Special librarians work in settings other than school or public libraries. They are sometimes called information professionals. Businesses, museums, government agencies, and many other groups have their own libraries that use special librarians. The main purpose of these libraries and information centers is to serve the information needs of the organization that houses the library. Therefore, special librarians collect and organize materials focused on those subjects. Special librarians may need an additional degree in the subject that they specialize in. The following are examples of special librarians:
The median annual wage for librarians and library media specialists was $61,190 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $37,300, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $97,870.
Adult basic and secondary education and ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers instruct adults in fundamental skills, such as reading and speaking English. They also help students earn their high school equivalency credential.
School librarians perform a number of tasks every day, and as a student interested in enrolling in a library science program, you may want to look at the duties of a school librarian. These duties include working with both students and other faculty members, finding new materials for the library and ensuring that those using the facility understand how to use all materials and resources.
Acquiring new materials and resources is one of the key things a school librarian does. While private schools may have more funds available, public schools often have a very small budget, which limits the new materials that you can bring in each year. You need to know how to identify the needs of the students within that school, evaluate the materials available to you and determine which are best for the student body.
Though you might think that librarians still rely on the Dewy Decimal System and that they spend a lot of time putting books back in the stacks and organizing the library, librarians today use newer forms of technology on the job too. The responsibilities of a school librarian include knowing how to organize online materials, how to keep track of the databases that the school subscribes to and how to help students find materials through those sources. If your school offers online classes or classes taken via satellites, you may be responsible for helping students register and take those classes.
One of the other responsibilities of a school librarian is the recruitment of new workers. While the school itself will usually have the final say regarding who can work there, librarians can help the school board weed through applicants and find those who are most qualified. You may even interview some of those applicants and determine which ones should go further in the hiring process. Depending on the school where you work, you may take over the recruitment and hiring of volunteers. Volunteers can help put books away, clean up the library and do other simple tasks. Those volunteers can include parents who have extra time on their hands or students willing to work during their free periods or after school.
According to the American Association of School Librarians, one of the other responsibilities of a school librarian is the evaluation of sources. When a student comes in and needs help putting together references for an upcoming paper, you need to know how to evaluate those sources and how to find the best materials for each student. Evaluating sources is especially important when looking at online content. While students may know that they cannot use Wikipedia, they may have a difficult time finding helpful and useful sources that their teachers will accept.
A librarian is in charge of collecting, organizing, and issuing library resources such as books, films, and audio files. They work in a range of settings including public libraries, schools, and museums. Their duties include issuing resources, cataloging books, and conducting regular audits.
We are looking for an experienced and self-motivated Librarian to join our team. As a librarian, you will perform a range of duties such as cataloging library resources, maintaining library records, managing budgets, and planning book sales.
School librarians work in academic settings at all levels of the US education system, from elementary schools to universities. School librarians organize media collections, maintain reference services, and assist patrons in finding information. They may specialize in certain areas of library science or collections, like fine arts, law, online reference collections, or serials. This guide provides further information on what librarians do, how to become one, and librarian salary and job outlook.
School librarians should have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, advanced computer skills, reading skills, and the ability to solve problems. Common tasks for school librarians include assisting patrons in learning how to use information retrieval systems, providing suggestions on books and information sources relevant to patron inquiries, and maintaining collections. School librarians may also be responsible for the acquisition of new materials for library collections. With experience, school librarians may also become responsible for supervising junior librarians, clerks, and others within the library. School librarians should be prepared to continue training and developing their skills in the information sciences throughout their careers, as information requirements in the Internet age are always evolving.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), librarians in elementary and secondary schools earned a median annual wage of $60,780 in 2018.2 Librarians in college and university libraries earned a median annual salary of $64,130 in 2018.2 However, the salary for school librarians can vary widely; salaries tend to be higher in larger libraries and frequently differ from state to state. The BLS predicts average jobs growth for librarians over the 10-year period between 2018 and 2028, at 6%.2
Many school librarians begin accumulating career experience by volunteering at local libraries while pursuing an education in library science. Advancement opportunities for school librarians are available to assistant director and library director, where salaries are commensurate with experience and the added responsibilities these positions entail. In large library systems, school librarians may alternately advance to specialist positions such as conservator.
School librarians are focused on student success and should be a part of every school and all grade levels. Professional or certified school librarians are specifically trained to work with students and have extensive librarian-related experience like research, information literacy, book recommendations, and technology on top of their teaching experience. They work with students and other teachers to ensure that everyone is able to access information in a variety of formats and that reading is integrated across the curriculum. School librarians are leaders within their schools and help develop important skills in students from a young age because they focus on learning outcomes and individual discovery.
Based on the things admin said in my interview and on the feedback I received from teachers, I knew that my school wanted the library to be modernized, updated, and made to be more welcoming, representative, comfortable, and enjoyable. Therefore I knew that the changes I wanted to make (adding high interest and representative books, facilitating social and collaborative connection between students, offering brain break activities, etc) should not wait even 1 year. I knew those big changes were needed right away. So I made the changes. I received some pushback and criticism from certain teachers. I received positive feedback and excitement from other teachers. But the only thing that really matters is that these changes caused students to start coming to the library, using the library, asking me for help, and providing positive feedback. 2ff7e9595c
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